WG - The Mystery of the Poisoned Healer Options

[Black Hand]

Sethyas held onto the back of Honditar's horse, and imbibed one of his custom potions. An elixir of such potency that only a Master Alchemist could make.

He disembarked at the top of the trail, and took in the conflict.


She's down. He thought, glancing over Eyja. Her eyes were pleading something, as though she were scared for her life.

No. For Maxical's...or mine. He knew the difference between the look self-preservation and compassion. He'd stared into dying eyes until the light faded away more times than he cared to count.

He took the crossbow from Honditar, and had it cocked, locked and loaded in three moves. Adding the Walking Dead Orc to his equation of the battlefield.

He glanced over at Earana, who took in the scene with the arrogant eyes that only a Battlemage would have.

"I've been around a long time, Earana. A *lot* longer than you. So I know how this goes, you will fail here. Save the derisive laughs for after. I'll make a magnanimous offer this once. Return Maxical as she was before you abducted her, and you walk away with your life, same as you are now." He grated out in a low tone.

"Now; the next step is you reject that offer completely assured in your power. A trait common to mages. We tussle, you fail, and I take my time with your demise. After I ensure Maxical is okay; of course." he continued circling around her, as she smiled more and more to his dialogue.

"You've heard it said: 'I've killed far worse than you'. Now meet the one who has. Many times."

"You look me in my eyes, and you tell me if I'm lying." Something about his tone was beyond a threat and more powerful than a simple command. Earana looked up, and her golden eyes peeked behind the black hood and met his crimson ones.

In them, she saw Death.

Eyes that didn't blink in the face of a hundred murders, that didn't waiver in the face of a thousand demises, that never shed a single tear for any of them.

"Well, as you say. You know how this goes." She sneered, and cast a lightning bolt upon the decaying pillars of Cloud Top.

The magical site claimed the energy, and sent it soaring into the heavens. The magicka raced across the skies in less than the blink of an eye, returning too the pillars with the electricity of the gods. It rained down upon the pillars with a terrible flash.

Sethyas had stepped into the middle of it, quite intentionally, guessing it's purpose with the limited interaction, and with Earana's rising sadistic smile.

The lighting writhed around him, passing through him in jagged white-hot arms to the white marble. He merely stood there, unfazed.

"What?! Impossible!" Earana shrieked.

"First mistake." he said, firing the heavy artillery of the crossbow to the Orc just now coming up the path. The bolt landing in chest, knocking him down to the ground.

The potion was in fact a 'resist shock' effect elixir. It provided near-immunity very temporarily, even Sethyas' show was largely self-control as he felt the energy buzzing through every facet of his being. His bones, his hair, everything was alive and crackling with the sensation of pure power and pain.

Just enough to distract Earana for the next step.

[mALX]

Earana:


The powerful Dunmer was more than a surprise; he was a danger. Who was he? Where did he come from? Earana changed her tactics immediately to trying to negotiate. The numbers were against her till the Orc got here. She wasn't going to battle her way out against all these except by last resort. If she could live to tell about it then. She eyed the Dunmer with the strange tattoo again. Who was he?

"I brought no harm to this Nord, or the Khajiit either. She was caught in a bolt of lightning; they both were."

Maxical stirred and moaned. "Earana...Earana help...stomach hurts."

"There, you see? Would she call me to help her if I'd brought harm to her?" Earana took a step back from the Dunmer with the odd tattoo, glancing in Maxical's direction.

"Come along, dearest child. Tell your friends here what good care Earana has given you."

Maxical's body made a few jerky motions, but she never raised up.

"Come, Maxical. Your friends want to see you are well, they think I've harmed you." The words were belied by the commanding note in her voice.

"Can't move...stomach hurts...need more cream. Please, Earana; I need the cream."

Earana turned to the two men facing her. "There, you see? Cream! A rare treat, and I have freely given it at her demands. I have some in my pack there, give her a bowl of it and you will see. I have spoiled the child if anything."

Honditar reeled on her. "Drugged cream, you've given her; I found your lab in the sewers below Chorrol. You've made a thrall of her with your potions."

Earana bent down quickly and snatched the book from Eyja; raising up with it held in front of her like a talisman.

"Get back! You have no idea the power you are facing or what it will do to you if I unleash it. Look at your friends on the ground, both warriors reduced to limp rags by its mighty charge. I'm not fighting all of you, just let me get my spell and robe and you can take your friend home."

She looked from the Dunmer to Honditar as if throwing down a challenge rather than trying to bargain with them.

Behind her she heard Eyja stirring and stepped to the side in time to see Eyja's head shake no at the Dunmer with the tattoo.

Eyja's voice echoed off the pillars around them in a rasping choke. "She's bluffing. The book holds no power without the spell, Maxical still has it." Eyja was trying to roll over and rise.

Maxical was struggling to move too, too much movement to keep an eye on everyone. Earana took a step back and tried to raise her hand to cast Maxical to stillness when a strong hand gripped her wrist like a vice, squeezing the magicka back down her arm it was so tight.

"Oh no you don't." Eyja breathed into her ear.

"Unhand me, I was just going to help the dear child!"

Maxical was calling to her again, trying to crawl toward her. "I need the cream, Earana. Give me the cream, please!"

Earana's glance around froze and riveted on the tattooed Dunmer's eyes; there was a coldness in them that saw death and didn't care. As if he spoke the words she knew he could and would snap her in two without a second thought.

Behind the Dunmer a movement caught her eye, and relief washed over her as her late boyfriend finally made it to the edge of the stone pillars. Earana took advantage of Eyja's shock and jerked her wrist from Eyja's grasp.

"Now, if it's a fight you want; it's a fight you'll get."

She leaped easily to the low stone wall and conjured a Daedra into the midst of them. With her other hand she cast toward Eyja with a command spell but it blew past her. She aimed the next at Maxical and it struck cleanly in her midsection.

Maxical tried to move but couldn't. "Hey, hey! What are you doing to Earana? Leave her alone!"


*





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 1 2013, 10:44 PM

[mALX]

Honditar:

Honditar glanced at Sethyas and jerked his head toward Maxical when she called for the cream. When Sethyas nodded, Honditar ducked behind him and slid the bottle of cream from Sethyas's pack. He was about to give it to Maxical when he saw the command spell hit and Maxical beginning to defend Earana. Perfect timing.

He yanked the cork from the bottle of cream and teased a bit of it on Maxical's lips before laying one of his own bowls down and pouring a small portion into the bowl.

That would dispell the command Earana had on her; and the addiction to Skooma would be more powerful a draw than protecting Earana. It would keep Maxical out of the fight, at least till she realized there was no Skooma in the cream.

Honditar felt an inner groan at the sight of the dead Orc nearing the pillared structure. How much harder would it be to kill an Orc that was already dead?


*

[Black Hand]

"Lies." he laughed, reloading the crossbow.

"The last refuge of the weak and surrounded." he fired with an expert eye to the Orc's knee. The powerful punch of the bolt piercing the tough Orc hide, shattering the patella behind it.

No small feat given the density of Orc bones. Their corpses being primary targets for Necromancer's largely for this reason.

"As you know, Orc corpses are among the most sought after for the durability of their skin and the strength of their bones." The macabre line from 'Corpse Preparation' flashed through his mind. She was not the first Necromancy practitioner, nor was this the first walking corpse he'd dealt with.

"You could have walked away and lived. Upon my honor and upon the graveyards and urns I've made with these black hands, you would not have joined them, Earana." He said reloading once more, the effect of the lightning blast now starting to catch up to him.

He saw the 'ghost snakes' of the blood rushing through the retinas, and it became painful to move. The Orc got up, and started to limp on one leg, soon joined by Earana's summoning.

The Dremora looked over the spectacle with hate-filled red and yellow eyes, and black skin with reddish tones.

His expression was one of malevolent ecstasy. The War Spirit summoned could enact his daedric purpose.

Suddenly his eyes fell on the Dunmer, and they opened wide in recognition. His black lips spread open in a yelled curse, spitting saliva as his voice reverberated like a rusty saw through their very souls.

"YOU!!" it accused Sethyas.

Sethyas actually blinked, and replied: "Have we met?"

"Shara! Morrowind! You stole my Kataaannnaaa!!" He raged. "It was presented as an honor gift by my Valkynaz! Since it's loss I've served as a lowly Caitiff! You. Will. DIE!" the Dremora swore as he pulled out a Daedric Battle-Axe, twisted and darker than the void, like a soul in pain was desperate to crawl out from it's unholy substance.

Shara? Morrowind? Wait,...the Necromancer's Abode,...the Morag Tong Writ...THIS is the same Dremora? I took the Daedric Katana from his banished corpse...oh, Gods. Sethyas thought.

[Grits]

Abiene

Honditar crouched over Maxical, tending her in some way Abiene couldn’t fathom. Surely he knew Maxical was under Command by Earana. He hadn’t called for her help. Abiene had to trust that it wasn’t needed.

A shuddering groan yanked Abiene’s attention back to the orc. Earana must have raised him from death.

The air inside the circle ripped open with the sound of a Daedric summoning. Earana stood triumphant on the low wall.

Icy fear clenched her belly and prickled the palms of her hands. Death was her enemy, and she faced it down daily across the broken and ailing bodies of tailed folk, mer, and men. Now it howled around her on all sides. Her own end must be near.

She snapped her fists closed in defiance.

Her stars had given her the Blessed Word at her birth, a power she hadn’t used since she cheated on her Intro to Conjuration final. Now she called it forth in a blaze of righteous light and pushed it out toward the undead orc.

It didn’t Turn him, but he paused.

Abiene moved toward him, brushing the moisture out of her eyes. Her Breton’s Dragonskin settled over her without her conscious attention, providing the protection of metal plate armor.

Restoration gave her the keys to a body’s energies, for good or ill. Now Abiene drew her darkest knowledge to the front of her mind, this time unflinching.

Sethyas shot the orc, and it staggered to the side. An unholy voice split the air, shrieking through Abiene's very bones. The Dremora. Sethyas spoke to it.

Abiene approached the orc, completely misjudging his reach. He backhanded her across the side of the head. “Weak and worthless!” he growled.

She hit the ground and rolled back toward him. One hand brushed his leg. She grabbed and clawed upward while he kicked, drawing out his energy as she rode him to the ground.

.

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 2 2013, 12:01 AM

[mALX]

Eyja:


"Oh crap!" Eyja heard the Dremora's gravely words with a sinking feeling. All they needed now was a summon with a grudge. She caught Earana's smug smile and wondered if she'd known before summoning it. Had she? What did it matter now, the Dremora had Seth's attention and the Orc as advancing at a limp.

Eyja flipped out her dagger, still sticky from the Orc's eyeball goo. She slunk in a circle around the focused Dremora as if going after the Orc, but at the last moment grabbed Earana's casting arm in a viselike grip and slung her around till Earana's back was pressed against Eyja's stomach; her arms bound tightly to her side in the steel grip of Eyja's arms.

"Call off the Orc, or I'll use you as a shield. You know how dumb he is, he'll kill you trying to get to me, now CALL HIM OFF!"

Maxical yowled from the edge of grass surrounding the pillars. "STOP! LEAVE EARANA ALONE!"


*

[Black Hand]

The Dremora covered the ground between them, his massive weapon cleaving the air, which Sethyas' bobbed and weaved around. Slowly directing his direction and arcs.

"Two hundred and fifty years, and you still can't hit spit. Pathetic, no wonder I banished you so easily." He mocked, and the red eyes saw only red.

Careful to mind Abiene's position, and placing himself between the Orc and the Dremora, he gave him a mocking look.

"I'll give you one for free." He smirked, as the embodiment of red rage brought the axe up high over his head for a downward swing.

"NOW ABIENE! MOVE!" He yelled as the swing came down.

The full ferocity of daedric axe and dremoran strength came raging down on the Orc. Cleanly cleaving in two from crown to just above the mid-section.

The head's two sections folded back from the neck wound priorly placed there by the Ash-born Assassin. The internal organs displayed in a grotesque cross-section. The flat of the Axe was caught in the ribcage and spinal cords. Despite the sheer power of the swing the Dremora couldn't release the axe and gave an unearthly howl as he placed his right foot onto the Orc's midsection, and comically tried to release the weapon.

The sound of a liquid hitting a surface and the clicking of a weapon was secondary to the Dremora's focus. Until he felt the pressure against his temple. His eyes looked over to his left, and his focus shifted to the Dunmer holding the crossbow to his head. He guessed easily enough that the splash he heard was poison, as the acrid smell hurt even his nostrils that were used too the winds of The Deadlands.

The last thing that went through his mind; besides the poisoned bolt, was that he would return someday for revenge.

Sethyas reloaded the crossbow after the Dremora was banished, and assessed the impressive damage it had done to the Orc. As far as he could determine, even if it still had undeath, it couldn't do much in that state.

[mALX]

Eyja:


Eyja saw she couldn't use the Orc as a threat anymore and charged a silence spell down her fingertips into Earana before releasing her with one hand and giving a strong jerk with the other. Earana was forced to spin around and face her just long enough to receive the full contact of Eyja's fist in an uppercut whose speed was enhanced by magic.

"Maxical taught me that move." She said, showing the bleary eyed Earana that her knuckles were covered in a fitting made of brass slid over her fingers.

Her silence spell was not as powerful as Earana's, or Earana had some form of shield protecting her from it. The next thing Eyja knew Earana had blasted her with a powerful jolt of burning liquid that left her fingers in a hot ball of fire.

Eyja staggered away, healing herself as she ran to get near Maxical; knowing Earana wouldn't risk Maxical being killed till she had that spell.

Eyja drew her dagger out and dipped it in poison, only to hear Maxical scream beside her.

"STOP IT! Don't make me have to hurt you, Eyja! Leave Earana alone!"

Earana grinned and stepped forward. "Yes, Eyja. Maxical is my friend now, she wouldn't want to have to kill you; but we both know she will if you push her to."

Eyja lunged toward Earana. Maxical dove forward and grabbed Eyja's leg, tripping her. Eyja tumbled forward with force, the poison dagger piercing Earana's left shoulder deeply as she fell on top of Earana. Eyja held her down with the weight of her body on top of her; still pushing with force against the dagger in her shoulder while she whispered in her ear.

"Oh, she will help you in every way, Earana. What you don't know is that all Maxical's strength in battle is one on one. In melee her clumsiness is always her allies' downfall. Every destruction spell she casts will strike you and yours, and her destruction capability is much higher than yours. We are safe as long as she is against us."

Earana writhed in pain, moaning. Eyja stradled her to get better control and bore down heavy with the blade, twisting it. Earana arched beneath her with little mewling sounds.

"Hey! Is she hurting you, Earana?" Maxical called. Eyja heard her struggling across the dirt, moving toward them.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, MAXICAL! WE'RE MATING!" Eyja called. She twisted the blade and whispered into Earana's ear. "Say it, or the knife goes in your throat."

Earana moaned, but no words accompanied it.

"EW!" Maxical didn't come any closer.

Eyja didn't hear her move away either. Drat what was taking so long for Earana's drugs to wear off? She leaned down again to Earana's ear and whispered,

"See, I know her and you don't. I can use her weaknesses to my benefit, and to your detriment. You only have a blade in your shoulder so far. Let's see what else she can do to you." Eyja pulled out the blade and leaped up fast, moving back close to Maxical again.

Earana began casting healing, good; Eyja thought. Wearing her magicka out on healing herself, she might not have what she needed for her high powered destructions spells, or commanding Maxical either.

She tried to reach Maxical through the mind control, giving every expression Maxical may connect with in her memories. Maxical's only response was staring at her with a wary expression.


*





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 06:36 AM

[Grits]

Abiene

Abiene crab-crawled backward out from under the orc. His stolen energy sang through her body, chasing out the ringing in her ears and bringing her vision back into focus. She stared up at Sethyas in shock through the empty air once occupied by the raging Dremora. The Dunmer reloaded his crossbow while he regarded the orc wreckage with almost clinical interest. No wonder I rarely heal injuries from crossbow bolts.

Shouting came from the women struggling on the ground and Maxical beyond them. Abiene stayed low and started toward Maxical, but Eyja leaped up and away from Earana, hissing threats. Abiene couldn’t begin to guess her intentions.

Why is Maxical still under Command?

Abiene couldn’t risk getting in the way of Seth’s shot, and she would likely miss Earana with her own feeble Destruction spells. But even from a distance she could try to help Maxical.

No doubt Earana’s power was far greater than her own. Abiene’s Command spell might only further weaken Earnana’s, but that support combined with Maxical’s own will could be enough to break the spell. Besides, Honditar must have done something in their favor. Abiene reached out her hand, sending all of her love and belief in Maxical toward the Khajiit in a green swirl of magicka. Illusion spells were rooted in lies, but this one held only truth. Maxical, fight!

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 2 2013, 02:01 AM

[mALX]

Honditar:

Maxical had dumped the bowl of cream he had poured her, seeking the Skooma it didn't contain. Honditar was afraid that would happen. While Eyja had Earana distracted he tried again, pouring another bowl of the cream halved with dispel potion. This time he slipped a vial of Skooma he'd taken from Earana's lab, dribbling the tiniest bit into the cream in the bowl. It was the only way to get the potion into her.

"Earana said to give you her cream since you didn't like mine." He whispered low, luring Maxical out of the war zone inside the pillared area.

Maxical followed, her eyes glassy at the thought of Earana's cream. She didn't throw the bowl over this time, but showed obvious signs of being frustrated by the small amount of Skooma in it as she lapped it up. Earana must have had her on a high dose to get her this badly addicted so quickly.

He waved at Abiene, trying to get her attention to the Khajiit; but turned back around when Eyja got off Earana. He readied himself to fight again, hoping the Khajiit would not defend Earama this time.



*




This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 02:25 AM

[Black Hand]

Sethyas pulled out a thin, long needle and walked close to Honditar. He pressed the flat of it into his palm behind the Altmer's back, obscured from Maxical's vision.

He whispered very softly. "This is a paralysis poison. Nothing else. No negative effects. I am not saying you should use it, but I'd rather you would have it and not need it, than otherwise. I leave it to you and Abiene. Eyja needs me." He finished.

He walked briskly as Earana writhed in the pain that Eyja expertly put her in.

"Thing with Command spells. They end when the caster dies. I know the College of Illusion quite well, Earana." Seth said while approaching them.

He put the crossbow two inches from Earana's forehead.

"What happens next, I leave to you Eyja. I said my skills and my blades are at your service. I am your Black Hand."

[mALX]

*



Eyja:


Eyja had never been so impressed as she was by Seth's words. Any other time, other situation she would have given her nod to him. But Maxical was still under Earana's control, and the last thing she wanted to do was make Seth an enemy of Maxical's.

She lay her hand gently on Seth's taut arm holding the crossbow and shook her head, but held the hand there as a signal not to raise the crossbow; so to Maxical it would look like he was continuing to threaten Earana; whispering to him to follow her lead.

"Let Maxical do it, or she'll hold you as an enemy beyond the wearing off of Earana's control. Once she fires a spell, get as close to her back as possible. It is the safest place to be, she never gets hit with her own spells."




Maxical:


The pleasure she sought from the thick cream burned too small a trail down her throat. The familiar explosion of euphoria never came, instead she was left shaking in the need for more and the edge was barely taken off the pain radiating in her stomach.

Through the fog of desperation came Earana's voice, commanding her to help; begging her to save her in a scream that temporarily shattered through the need for that cream.

Maxical looked up and saw a Dunmer man, so much like Gils...no, his face was covered by an odd tattoo that frightened her. What was he doing to Earana? She needs me. Earana needs me to stop him.

Maxical cast at the Dunmer automatically, not checking to see which spell was loaded. Earana's robe disappeared, and in the fog in her mind it suddenly struck her the Dunmer man was trying to rape Earana.

"Hey, that's Eyja's girlfriend! Leave her alone!"

She checked her spells again and loaded a shock spell she hadn't seen before. "What's this?"

Eyja grabbed the Dunmer man's arm and whispered something; pulling him close to Maxical. She signaled the man Honditar and Abiene; and suddenly everyone converged close to where Maxical lay on the ground.

Her wavering vision saw the Dunmer's face coming near her and she cast at him. The bolt zigzagged by his head with a hissing sound and slammed into a pillar before ricocheting off and striking a tree well outside the pillared site of Cloud Top.

The tree made a loud crack and toppled. Eyja was grabbing people and pushing them; the Dunmer and the others were suddenly gathering so close behind her that she could feel them touching her butt.

"Hey! Get your hands off my tail! Who touched my butt?"

Earana was rising in the middle of the pillared area when the lightning bolt ricocheted off two more trees on opposite sides and well outside of the Ayleid site. The others were tugging Maxical's struggling body out of the pillared area and onto the ground outside it when the lightning arced back around and shot in a straight line directly into the main pillar; exploding in a firworks of several sizzling bolts.

Earana was caught by several of the bolts, and hung suspended as if on a string in the air; making jerky convulsive movements with a shocked look on her face...literally.

"Earana, NOOOOO!" Maxical cried when Earana's body was released and tossed in an arc to the ground. She jerked free of the hands holding her and crawled over to the woman, cradling her head with her arms.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry Earana. What have I done?" She looked around at the others, barely recognizing faces until her eyes caught onto Eyja and that healer Abiene from that inn she had stopped at.

"Help her! You've got to help her, please? She is my friend..."

Inside her something felt like it released. She looked back at Earana's limp head laying at an awkward angle in her arms.

"It was an accident, I didn't mean to kill her. She was my friend...wasn't she? I think she was my friend...I can't remember."

Eyja came forward and lifted Maxical away from Earana, taking her into her arms. "Come on, Maxical. I know you didn't mean to hurt your friend. She would have wanted to go by that spell if she could have chosen it."

Eyja indicated the others, who seemed to be moving about with strange wariness. "Maxical, you need healing now; these people have come to help you."

Maxical's eyes landed on that Altmer man Honditar, the one who had given her the cream. "I need more cream. Please, my stomach is hurting for more."



*





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 06:50 AM

[mALX]

Eyja:

Eyja watched Maxical follow Honditar and get on her hands and knees to lap from the bowl. Maxical would never knowingly drink that way, the woman must have made her do it after she was strongly addicted, some humiliation to the Khajiit she detested.

While Maxical's attention was diverted Eyja scooped up the book Earana had dropped, sliding it into her own pack.

She turned to Seth with a feeling of helplessness. "She is badly addicted to that Skooma, is there a potion you can make to cure that?


*

[mALX]

Honditar:


Honditar dribbled a small amount of the Skooma into the cream again, not sure if he was helping the situation or hurting it. He hated feeding the girl's addiction, but wasn't able to withstand the pain she was enduring by not having it either. Matters like these were best left with those who knew, maybe getting her to Chorrol before tackling her addiction problem would be wisest. At least he could sop the guilt he was feeling with that excuse.

When he heard Eyja's question to Sethyas he decided it may be best to come clean with what he had done. He left the Khajiit lapping the cream and approached Sethyas with the vial of Skooma and the rest of the cream mixed with Dispel.

"Eyja, will you see to the girl? She is insisting Earana get a decent burial up here, said this place meant a lot to Earana."

When Eyja walked over to where Maxical was, he handed the vial and cream to Sethyas. "I hate to admit it, but I've put a few drops in the last two bowls of cream she's had. She was hurting, and tossed the first bowl with none of the Skooma in it. It was the only way to get the Dispel into her. Don't want to keep doing it though; unless you think we should; just to be able to bring her quietly back to Chorrol."


*




This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 11:16 AM

[Grits]

Abiene

Abiene scrambled to keep up. Finally the lightning stopped. Earana was dead, and they had survived. She turned to look for Maxical.

Her eyes passed over the Altmer’s body, the bare limbs in an awkward tangle. Abiene remembered the woman’s haughty tone as she spoke to the guards in Great Oak Place, her proud bearing, and the care she always took with her silk and velvet clothing. Abiene’s heightened energy left all at once. She lunged for the nearest pillar, stomach heaving.

When she straightened, Eyja had returned to Maxical.

Abiene’s own words to Honditar returned to her mind. At the least I’d like to be there to help when you find Maxical. We know she will need healing.

Skooma addiction could be complicated by Maxical’s magical disorder, and any condition would be compounded by shock burns and illness. Her spells could ease the suffering in Maxical’s body, but a Master Alchemist’s potion would be the best way to cleanse the poison from her blood. Perhaps a potion like the one she carried tucked into her blouse.

Abiene stood with her hands full of light, reluctant to reach out and upset Maxical further.

Honditar spoke to Sethyas. Abiene looked to Eyja for direction.

[mALX]

*

Eyja:

Eyja waved Abiene over to Maxical. "She's sleeping now, but keeps tossing and crying as if she's in pain. She said her stomach hurts, but I think that is the need for Skooma...it could be from that electric shock though. Her forehead feels like she is burning up with fever; but that could be from the shock too."

Eyja turned to face Abiene, showing her own hand and arm that had been burned. "I got this just touching Maxical when I first got up here, that's why Earana couldn't get that book from her. Spells hovered over her like the electricity formed a shield or something. When I touched Maxical all that electricity went into me, and it was well after Maxical had been hit. I had cast a strong shock shield on myself, and it was still the most powerful shock I've ever felt; blew me about eight feet back."

Eyja pulled the front of the black robe open to show Abiene the burns on Maxical's stomach where the electrical jolt had hit her. "Look at this, she was hit full force." She lowered her voice then. "With her complete weakness to magic, no telling what internal damage she has from that. Do you think you can you help her?"



*




This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 09:28 AM

[Black Hand]

Sethyas lowered his head in a slow, single nod. He understood her instructions, and followed her lead. He almost chuckled at Maxical's reaction to Eyja's 'girlfriend' being threatened by him. Eyja set her stage for Earana's demise, and they closed in on the Khajiit Caster. She really could not aim in this state, he thought as Eyja used his frightening countenance to continue her plan.

"Hey! Who touched my butt?!" Maxical cried, disoriented. From where I am standing that would be physically impossible. He thought wryly.

Finally, Eyja's sense for a poetic death was granted to Earana. The spell she had worked so hard to grasp and master was now her downfall. Too often he had seen the struggle for this illusory, temporary sense of control ruin so many individuals. She was worse than Maxical in her addiction to skooma; regardless of how it was brought about, Earana had given herself over completely to her lust for power. Then, to use and manipulate others into becoming her stepping stones, that was tying her own noose. So long as there was loyalty in the world, between friends such as they the machinations of those such as Earana would face this opposition. Gods be praised if they succeeded.

And with that, just as he had said, when the caster dies so too did their spell. Maxical slowly started to come around, regaining whatever sense of self she had prior. The aftermath still had her addicition left over, and the wounds that enacted the price of learning the power of the new spell.

Abiene left her last meal behind her. One could say it was her poisoning. Yet, somehow he knew that all this death was too much for her. Events such as these were more commonplace to he and Eyja. Even Honditar seemed a little off-put. Abiene and he were opposites. Two sides of the same coin. Whereas death was her foe, it was his profession. Yet, they both worked around the same foundations. Anatomy, chemistry, intimate knowledge of herbs and their effects, and how to deal with people in a certain way. What sprang forth from these identical qualities, was worlds apart. Yet, he'd met Healers that were the epitome of heartless, and knew Assassins that were the very definition of compassion. It was whether you let your profession define you, not that you needed a particular disposition to excel in either.


Honditar's inquiry for a potion that could cure skooma addiciton almost brought a smile to his face. He evidently had never heard of the writings "Confessions of a Dunmer Skooma Eater." There was no 'cure' as in magic. Rather it was a long hard road out of hell. A choice the individual must make to leave it behind, or not

. He once delivered this book to an ex-lover of his guildmate Ahnassi, in the Theives Guild. His inquiries with Jo'Basha; the book dealer and abolitionist in Vivec had him commenting that everyone knew there was no cure, and Khajiit especially would know this. Then, he handed him the book and said that, perhaps Khajitt know some things that aren't true after all.

"I can make a potion that can separate the drug from her system, definitiely." Seth started and was starting to complement his statement, but held his tongue. It would be best if she beleived that the potion would cure her. The mind, after all was a powerful thing.

[mALX]

*

Eyja:

Eyja watched Abiene’s expert hands working on Maxical. She seemed to really know what she was doing when it came to healing; and thought outside the box so to speak.

She turned around and glanced back at Honditar talking with Seth. He’d had a guilty look on his face when he sent Eyja to help Maxical. She saw the jug of cream in his hand and the smaller than average vial. It didn’t take much to put the two together.

Eyja’s initial anger at Honditar for it was overridden by putting herself in his boots. She may have done the same, till she could get help for Maxical. Honditar’s heart was always a soft one, he did what he felt best. And he confessed to the right person if he was bringing his guilt before Seth as she assumed he was doing. Seth would know the right path to take, she was sure of that.

She was also sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that Maxical’s secrets were safe with Seth. She had felt he needed an explanation for why she‘d pulled him in to have a destruction spell of that magnitude cast nearly into his face. It wasn’t mere chance the spell didn’t hit him, nor the Skooma fog that would not have been predictable.

What she’d told him in the quietest whisper, she was sure he’d understand. More importantly, she was sure the secret was safe with him.

“I didn’t have time to explain before, but I‘m sure you saw the odd trajectory in the path of Maxical‘s destruction magic. I’ve watched her in combat enough to know you would be safe from being hit. The safest place to stand when she casts is nearest her back, that's why I pulled you in that way. She has a magic conduction disorder, a condition that has her magic flipped somehow. Her healing power is non-existent, and her destruction always targets her allies rather than her enemies. I knew you’d be safe, or wouldn’t have pulled you in that way...knew Earana would end up the target no matter how many ricochets the spell took.”

She paused and gave her boyish grin. “As you also saw, she is as dumb as an Orc on Fredas when it comes to sex. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, tell her you are engaged and she’ll leave embarrassed. It overrides everything, even the powerful command spell Earana had on her. When you know an ally’s weaknesses, you can use them to your advantage in combat in the same way you would your enemy‘s weaknesses. I’ve learned Maxical’s well. You see what she is capable of, and now you also see her limitations. I hope you will protect them as I have, she has many enemies that would use them against her if they knew.”



Eyja’s eyes lingered on Seth for another minute before she turned back to watch Abiene working on Maxical. He did inspire confidence in one. She had felt safe and protected with him here, something she’d never known before. Maxical was small and delicate, she looked as vulnerable as she was.

Eyja glanced down at her sturdy Nord frame in comparison. She didn’t look vulnerable, had never felt that she could or would be. But Seth had acted as if she was, stepping up that way. She had no doubt he saved all their lives from that Orc twice today. He was a powerful force in battle, dynamic.

Eyja brushed the hair gently from Maxical’s forehead and was shocked to see the vein in the center raised high against the skin.

“Abiene, what is causing this? Is her blood pressure too high?”


*





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 2 2013, 11:16 PM

[Black Hand]

Sethyas brow furled at her descriptions. It was something out of a tale a demented squirrel would perhaps tell, perhaps Sheogorath's pet bent on world domination through creating a cult or somesuch. But, he held no ill will for her pressing concern.

He shook his head gently. "Fear not. Many secrets do I know, and none have I told. This shall be another. Plus...frankly...I don't think anyone would believe me. I see now that she needs you, and...you need her." he chuckled slightly.

His eyes returned her look.

Setsuna... He realized. That is who you remind me of. These last two days have been such a whirlwind of intrigue and conflict...yet even in the direst storm, you hold onto that innocence. Blood stains your hands. Not your soul.

With that, a twinge right behind his sternum opened up a floodgate of emotion. He'd ignored it and built walls between it and himself. Something in that made him remember.

When he'd taken the life of the adventurer, he'd done so to protect not only himself, but Setsuna. He cared more for her safety than his own. That moment he discovered the trait, it wasn't something that was there all along, nor was it a scar from years of abuse and hate.

It was his creation.

He'd hardened his heart so she would not have too. We bear the burden, that others may not. This trait in himself that he reviled so much, was in fact an act of love, he realized.

But years of separation from his head and his heart made it register as the faintest of squinting.

Suddenly she noticed the throbbing vein in Maxical's forehead.

Hypertension. Shock Damage.

[Grits]

Abiene knelt at Maxical’s side, recovering. Curing the disease had proven complicated, as it had taken hold throughout Maxical’s body. Skooma damage and shock burns brought several organs close to failure. Throughout the process Maxical’s emotional distress had battered the barriers she set up between them.

In the end she had given in. Opened herself to Maxical’s need and grief and offered in return the comfort of her own defenses.

Now Maxical slept peacefully, her mind quiet and the worst of the damage repaired. Abiene drew back until she gently broke the contact between them. As always after a difficult healing she felt terribly alone. Bereft.

This will pass.

Abiene tipped her head back to feel the sun, eyes still closed. She held on to Maxical’s hand.

Seth’s words drifted in her empty mind.

“What happens next, I leave to you Eyja... I am your Black Hand.”

To offer death on another’s judgment… a childish part of her suggested that she should feel afraid. But lives had been restored by the same hands acting on Eyja’s behalf. Hers and now Maxical’s. “Two hundred and fifty years…” Long enough to fill an ocean with pain. She touched the shape of the potion vial inside her shirt and looked over at him.

As before his face looked distant yet connected. Composed behind his tattoo’s black mask. And in his eyes, recognition.

Then Abiene had another thought. We’ll need to find the horses.

Eyja spoke. Her voice held an edge of panic. “Abiene, what is causing this? Is her blood pressure too high?”

Abiene saw the source of her concern. “It looks that way. Eyja, my magicka is spent. I had to take some of Maxical’s to finish the healing. I thought it would be a bad idea to restore it with her mental state and wild casting. She’s in so much pain, and I don’t mean physical. It could be the addiction or something else entirely, you would know much better than me.” She gave herself a shake to stop her babbling. “Her organs are damaged. Beyond healing. She needs a restoration.”

.

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 3 2013, 01:22 AM